This study assessed the occurrence, origins, and potential risks of emerging perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) for the first time in drinking water resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In total, 13 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with carbon (C) chains C4-C18 and 4 perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) with C chains C4-C10 were tested in both surface and ground drinking water samples using a high-performance liquid chromatography system (HPLC) equipped with an Agilent 6460 Triple Quadrupole liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) system. The concentrations of ∑PFCAs, ∑PFSAs, and ∑PFAAs in drinking water ranged from 1.46 to 72.85, 0.30–8.03, and 1.76–80.88 ng/L, respectively. Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), and perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) were the dominant analytes in surface water followed by ground water, while the concentration of perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) were greater than long-chain PFOA and PFOS. The correlation statistics, which showed a strong correlation ( < 0.05) between the PFAA analytes, potentially indicated the fate of PFAAs in the area's drinking water sources, whereas the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) statistics identified industrial, domestic, agricultural, and commercial applications as potential point and non-point sources of PFAA contamination in the area. From risk perspectives, the overall PFAA toxicity in water resources was within the ecological health risk thresholds, where for the human population the hazard quotient (HQ) values of individual PFAAs were < 1, indicating no risk from the drinking water sources; however, the hazard index (HI) from the ∑PFAAs should not be underestimated, as it may significantly result in potential chronic toxicity to exposed adults, followed by children.

中文翻译：

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人口通过饮用水源接触新出现的全氟烷基酸 (PFAA)：多元统计和风险评估模型的应用

这项研究首次评估了巴基斯坦开伯尔-普赫图赫瓦省饮用水源中新出现的全氟烷基酸 (PFAA) 的出现、来源和潜在风险。使用高效液相色谱系统，总共测试了 13 种碳 (C) 链为 C4-C18 的全氟烷基羧酸 (PFCA) 和 4 种碳 (C) 链为 C4-C10 的全氟烷基磺酸盐 (PFSA)。 (HPLC) 配备 Agilent 6460 三重四极杆液相色谱-质谱 (LC-MS) 系统。饮用水中ΣPFCA、ΣPFSA和ΣPFAA的浓度范围分别为1.46-72.85、0.30-8.03和1.76-80.88 ng/L。全氟丁酸（PFBA）、全氟己酸（PFHxA）和全氟戊酸（PFPeA）是地表水中的主要分析物，其次是地下水，而全氟丁磺酸（PFBS）、全氟辛酸（PFOA）、全氟庚酸（PFHpA）的浓度）、全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）、全氟己烷磺酸（PFHxS）、全氟壬酸（PFNA）、全氟癸酸（PFDA）、全氟十一烷酸（PFUnDA）和全氟十二烷酸（PFDoDA）高于长链PFOA和PFOS。相关统计数据表明，PFAA 分析物之间存在很强的相关性 (< 0.05)，可能表明该地区饮用水源中 PFAA 的命运，而层次聚类分析 (HCA) 和主成分分析 (PCA) 统计数据则确定了工业、家庭、农业和商业应用作为该地区 PFAA 污染的潜在点和非点源。从风险角度来看，水资源中PFAA的总体毒性在生态健康风险阈值之内，其中对人群而言，个别PFAA的危害商（HQ）值<1，表明饮用水源不存在风险；然而，不应低估 ΣPFAA 的危害指数 (HI)，因为它可能会对暴露的成人造成显着的潜在慢性毒性，其次是儿童。